In brief: Duke, two states agree on cleanup

A hand is covered with wet coal ash in February from a power plant spill into the Dan River.
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A hand is covered with wet coal ash in February from a power plant...

RALEIGH, N.C. - Environmental and wildlife officials in North Carolina and Virginia signed an agreement with Duke Energy on Monday for the cleanup of toxic coal ash from the Dan River.

The agreement requires Duke to pay any "reasonable" cost associated with the Feb. 2 spill at its power plant near Eden, which coated 70 miles of the river in gray sludge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also a party to the deal.

Duke signed a similar agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month.

The nation's largest electricity company has begun the task of vacuuming up large pockets of toxic ash that settled to the bottom of the river as far downstream as Danville, Va. Duke must also pay for the ongoing monitoring by government agencies of the spill's impact on aquatic life.

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Family Dollar Stores has adopted a "poison pill" that could repel any potential hostile takeover attempt by investor Carl Icahn, who said Friday that he bought 9.4 percent of the Matthews, N.C.-based company.

According to securities filings, the board of directors voted to adopt the provision Sunday. Family Dollar's poison pill will last for one year and could kick in if anyone buys 10 percent or more of the company's stock, diluting investors' holdings by triggering new stock issues.

McDonald's posts 1 percent fall in sales figure

OAK BROOK, Ill. - McDonald's says a key sales metric slipped again in the U.S. as it faced "ongoing broad-based challenges" in May.

The world's largest hamburger chain said U.S. sales declined 1 per-cent at locations open at least 14 months. The fast-food chain has been struggling to boost sales amid heightened competition and changing eating habits.

Executives at McDonald's have also conceded that the chain introduced too many items too quickly last year, which led to slower service and inaccurate orders.

GoDaddy filing for an initial public offering

Web hosting company GoDaddy is filing for an initial public offering, hoping to raise up to $100 million.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based GoDaddy also said Monday that company founder and former CEO Bob Parsons is resigning as executive chairman to spend time on other ventures. The company has posted losses the last three years.

In other news

The Treasury Department auctioned $25 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.035 percent, unchanged from last week. Another $23 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at 0.060 percent, up from 0.055 percent. The average yield for one-year Treasury bills was unchanged at 0.10 percent.

Merck & Co will spend $3.9 billion for Idenix Pharmaceuticals, a small company developing hepatitis C medicines that could help produce lucrative combo therapies for the blood-borne virus.

Chesapeake Energy Corp said its board has approved a previously announced plan to spin off its oil field services unit into a separate company, Seventy Seven Energy